


Different Experience

by wilbursootluvr



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Dream Team - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Awkward Flirting, Ballroom Dancing, DNF, Dream Smp, El Rapids, Fluff, Internalized Homophobia, Kissing, Lmanburg, M/M, ill add more tags later!!, karlnap, prince AU, sweather weather
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:22:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28787907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wilbursootluvr/pseuds/wilbursootluvr
Summary: Every man and woman from every kingdom is searching for someone to marry. Prince Karl, socially awkward and also not seeking to marry. Sapnap, easy going and extroverted, also does not seek to marry. What happens when the two meet?
Relationships: Karlnap - Relationship, dreamnotfound - Relationship
Comments: 11
Kudos: 122





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hiya this is my first fic :O!! i hope u enjoy cause i had a lot of fun writing it !!!
> 
> twitter: lailacynical
> 
> also if any cc's are uncomfortable with this fic then i will def be taking it down !!

The light in the room is dim. Heart pounding, music drowning in the background, eyes to the ground with no thoughts.

Suddenly, Sapnap is brought back to reality and now looks around the room to see a tan colored ballroom with exquisite designs patterned across the wall and floor. People all around are dancing to the sound of the soft music, awaiting to find the one they are to marry.

Sapnap now remembers the urgency of this event, he promised his father that he’d be with his own bride this ball. So far he was not having any luck, looking around for someone he thought to be decent enough to marry. At this point his standards could not matter, for he only wanted to please his father.

He feels a sudden tap on the shoulder from someone, he looks over to see his friend Dream. They hung out often like best friends, but not that his relationship with Dream mattered. Dream was one of the most popular prince’s and was friends with everyone, but he decided to come to Sapnap when he felt like he needed something. “Good evening Prince, Dream” Sapnap said with a small bow afterwards. “I told you Nick, you don’t have to use such a name with me. I am your friend!” Dream said in a rather excited tone. Sapnap despises being called “Nick”, especially by Dream. Sapnap didn’t really value Dream much, Dream never did anything for him, but he had helped Dream lots.

“I'm sorry, my apologies..Dream. What is it that you need from me?.” “It's alright don't worry about it. Actually I just came to ask why you weren’t dancing with anyone?”. Sapnap is unable to come up with an excuse for such a question. Why was he not dancing with anyone? “Well, I just don’t see anyone who interests me..” Sapnap says as an excuse that was half true. “Well you're never gonna know of anyone who interests you if you’re not going out there and start dancing!” Dream encourages while putting a hand on Sapnaps back, signaling for him to start walking out to the dance floor. What was he to do? Disobey? Dream walks away with a smile to a woman he sees on the dance floor.

Sapnap scans the room, till eventually his eyes meet with blue eyes across the floor, blonde hair and long blue dress. Sapnap decides this is his moment, he walks up to her and greets her with a smile that he can’t decide looks genuine or not. “Hello, would you like to dance with me?” Sapnap says. “Uhm, sure” The blonde girl had said politely.

Sapnap takes one hand wrapped around her hip, the other held up to her hand. Sapnap was not the best at ballroom dancing but nonetheless he had decent skills, it was almost required. They began to waltz around in an almost pattern like form with the other guests. A conversation begins to spark.

“I’m Niki” The girl states. “Nice to meet you, I’m Sapnap”. He can see Niki smirk at the name. The conversation carries on, making small talk about whatever they could bring up. Sapnap doesn't hate it, surprisingly. His hopes get high immediately, his thoughts tell him she’s the one. She was sweet, pretty, not annoying in the slightest, her shyness was cute. This just happens to be one of the things Sapnap hates about himself, these insane thoughts where he makes conclusions, sometimes thinks the worst or in this situation, the best outcome. Sapnap needs time to think.

The song changes, and Sapnap takes this opportunity to get a drink. He kindly dismisses himself from the dance. Sapnap gets excited at the thought of pleasing his dad for once, he feels bad that it’s not because he’s with a decent girl but...not like she desires him. Sapnap pours himself a glass of white wine, and takes a sip. Then he’s on his way back to Niki. Scanning the room for her, until he finally sees her—

What? Who is that? He sees Niki, but she is now standing with someone else, someone who looks like he towers over him by at least two feet. They look happy. Sapnap soon realizes the man she’s dancing with is Prince Wilbur. One of the three siblings of King Philza, from L’manburg. Wilbur was a very kind and genuine dude, probably soon to be the next king of L’manburg. Wilbur was better suited for her, he’s glad she’s happy.

In Sapnaps thoughts, he’s soon interrupted when someone suddenly runs into him. “Oh my! I’m so sorry sir— please, let me help you up”. The boy who sent him to the ground says. Sapnap looks up to meet the gaze of the blue eyes in front of him. _Beautiful_. Wait what? He reaches out to him to be pulled up. “I’m really, really, really sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going” The boy apologises some more. “It’s fine don’t worry about it, honestly” Sapnap says, beginning to question if he's staring into the boy’s eyes because he's having a conversation or mesmerized by them. “I’m Karl by the way, nice to meet you”. The name sounded familiar. “Sapnap, nice to meet you”. “Do you happen to also be looking for a wife?” Karl Asks, with a worried expression, looking like he regrets every word that comes out of his mouth. “Indeed, you?” Sapnap asks the shorter one. “W-Well yes, I mean it's not like it's going great though. I worry if I will find someone I am willing to marry” Karl says before looking back at Sapnap and then immediately to the ground out of embarrassment.

Sapnaps eyes widen a bit, he's taken aback. As if a lightbulb goes off in his head. For once he has found someone with similar struggles to him. The thought makes Sapnap excited that he wasn’t alone. “I understand what you mean, it’s like everyone expects so much from you and never considers what you want yourself ya know?” Sapnap says with a sigh afterwards. Karls eyes brighten, the two now looking at each other. “Y-Yeah...it’s exactly like that” Karl says like he’s running out of breath at the end. A silence falls between them. “Well, I should get going now. It was nice to meet you..Sapnap!” Karl runs off. Sapnap watches him walk out the large doorway. He lets out a sigh he didn’t realize he had been holding in. Who was that? Why hadn't he met someone like that before?

-

The rest of the night the boy never left his mind. Sapnap had even taken it upon himself to ask Dream if he knew the boy. “Hey Dream, I have something to ask you” Sapnap says to Dream while he is standing next to George, his friend who Sapnap didn’t particularly like, he gave off a mean vibe. “Of course, ask away my friend!”. Dream only acts like this around George. “So uhm, do you happen to know of anyone by the name of ‘Karl’?” Sapnap asks while unconsciously twiddling with his fingers. “You mean, Prince Karl?” George interrupts. “P-Prince? What do you mean? He never told me he was a Prince”. “You mean..you spoke to him? Or he spoke to you? That dude is the most anti-social prince I’ve ever seen before” George says with a bit of attitude. Sapnap would have never known the boy was a Prince, nor anti-social for that matter by the way he talked to him. “The prince of which kingdom?” Sapnap asks. “Isn’t he the Prince of the neighboring kingdom to mine?” Dream asks George, to which he nods in agreement. “You mean, El Rapids?” Sapnap still in a bit of shock, asks. “Yeah, the one with the weird Prince system? I still can’t believe that Quackity guy is a prince, he isn’t even blood related to the King” George adds to the end. Sapnap faces Dream to ask him more but Sapnap is taken by surprise when Dream trips over him with the glass in his hand slipping onto Sapnap, and soon to the ground.

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry dude” Dream says in an apologetic tone. The sound of the glass shattering ends up getting everyone's attention to face towards Sapnap, who’s white blouse was now wet from the white wine Dream spilled on him. Sapnap feels his nerves rise, not because there were approximately a hundred people watching him but because he worried that those blue eyes were looking at him. Sapnap takes a look around but before he can locate Karl he feels Dream take him in his arms and escort him, leading him to the bathroom in the castle.

“I'm really sorry dude, I didn’t mean for that to happen” Dream says in an even more apologetic tone. “It’s okay, seriously. Gave me an excuse to leave” Sapnap mumbles the last part. Eventually they're in the bathroom and Dream let's Sapnnap go. Dream waves goodbye and heads back. Sapnap still worries about Karl seeing him, he's not sure why but he wants to see those blue eyes again.

Sapnap washes up, and puts his jacket over his blouse to cover the stain. Sapnap finds himself in the castle now. He’s not sure of his way around the castle, he’s only ever been in the places Dream took him, as this was the castle located in the Dream SMP. Eventually Sapnap finds a large doorway. He opens it with a deep sigh, but to his surprise it's in fact not the ballroom. In front of him was a large library. Two floors, the top floor held by a balcony and was symmetrical. To the side was a table where someone sat. Sapnap moves closer into the library towards the table near all the bookcases. The face under the book peeks out to look up at Sapnap.

There they are, those blue eyes. Now meeting face to face with Sapnap. Just the two of them, no big ballroom with people who have false hopes of marriage. Just them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK U SM FOR THE KIND COMMENTS ON THE LAST CHAPTER !! :D
> 
> im getting super excited to write the rest of this now !! i hope you enjoy this one  
> (FROM KARL POV)
> 
> twt: lailacynical

Karl is now running through the halls of the Dream SMP castle. He was here for the ball that was awaiting him but he’s now to find a bathroom, it was urgent. 

Eventually he’s met with the ballroom and takes a shortcut through it. He’s a fast pace, not running but speed walking. His mind was so concentrated in fact that he didn’t notice the taller male in front of him, to which he ran into.

Karl only gained consciousness once he saw the boy on the ground, to which he immediately apologizes and helps up. “I’m really, really, really sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going,” Karl pleads. “It’s fine don’t worry about it, honestly,” The boy with the moonlight blue eyes says. Karl felt like he needed to do something to ease his embarrassment, so he introduced himself. “I’m Karl by the way, nice to meet you,” Karl says, not adding ‘Prince’ before his name. His mother would be infuriated at him. “Sapnap, nice to meet you”. Karl is confused but intrigued at such a name. “Do you happen to also be looking for a wife?” Karl says and immediately regrets saying it, he wasn’t sure why he was in such a mood to speak to a stranger. “Indeed, you?” Sapnap, the taller of the two asks. “W-Well yes, I mean it's not like it's going great though. I worry if I will find someone I am willing to marry,” Karl confesses. What was going through his head right now? He would never admit such a thing...especially to a stranger but, doing such a thing for years now made him want to just let it out. He looks to the ground in embarrassment, assuming he was going to get judged.

  
  


“I understand what you mean, it’s like everyone expects so much from you and never considers what you want yourself ya know?” Sapnap says. Karl feels touched, like he had received a compliment, like it was  _ made  _ for him. Karl now looks up at the boy with a happy expression, a little worried it’s too much. “Y-Yeah...it’s exactly like that,” Karl hated when he stuttered but he didn’t notice at that moment. He stares into the boys eyes a little bit, he’d never seen such a shade of blue before. He’s then reminded of the feeling in his stomach that he’s supposed to be headed to the bathroom. “Well, I should get going now. It was nice to meet you..Sapnap!” Karl says in a tone like he’s ready to leave, and he did do so in fact.

—

Karl had finished in the bathroom. He didn’t want to go back to the ballroom though, as he took some time in the bathroom to process what he said, he realized he made an utter fool of himself (or, at least that’s what it felt like). He found himself wandering the halls of the Dream SMP castle, his mother would probably be in tears if she knew that he was avoiding the ball. His mother was so hard on him to find a wife, especially since he was twenty two now, and should have been married by age twenty one. He hated being a prince so much. 

Karl ends up finding an open library, he’s no longer thinking about his mother but is now excited. Karl loved reading ever since he was young, not necessarily because he enjoyed it, but because in the library no one bugged him. It was an escape from the harsh prince reality. Karl closes the doors behind him, and is now scanning the empty library. Karl stumbles upon a table in the middle and finds a book placed in the middle. It was Romeo and Juliet, Karl didn’t particularly like romance, nor tragic endings, but he honestly couldn’t care. As long as he was away from the crowd, anything was good to read.

Only about 20 minutes had proceeded, until Karl heard footsteps within the library. In his peripheral vision he could see the large doors were open. He sighs and pulls the book down in front of his face. Midnight blue eyes and a scruffy face were now only a few feet in front of him. Sapnap, or at least that’s what he said his name was? 

—

“Sapnap? What are you doing here?” You can hear the nervous tone in Karl’s voice. “Escaping reality,” Sapnap says. Karl could almost hug him in that moment. Was the weird thought Karl had in his head, he craved physical affection but this was a stranger. Karl sat there in silence just staring at the other, not sure what to say. Before long though Sapnap pulls out the chair across from him and sits.

“Whatcha reading?” Sapnap has a bit of an accent, Karl likes it. “Oh, uhm. Romeo and Juliet,” Karl closes the book and lays it in front of him. “Into romance novels?” Sapnap asks. “Well, not particularly but uhm, I guess it’s an okay book,” Karl definitely preferred one on one interaction then in a crowd of people but something about this other boy, made him so nervous. 

“So, Prince Karl huh? You didn’t tell me you were a Prince,” Sapnap adds a small giggle afterwards. Karl is a little thrown off by being called that by him. “Oh yeah, sorry it’s just I don’t think it’s needed sometimes,” Karl actually just despised being prince, and he didn’t want it to be the only thing known about him. “You don’t act like a prince though— but it’s not bad though, you're more humble actually. Not like Dream at least,” Sapnap rants on a bit. 

Karl’s heart is warmed, no one has ever told him he was special in that kinda way. “Is Dream really so bad?” Karl tries not to show he's flattered at the comment. “Gosh, he shoves the fact that he’s soon to be king up everyone’s ass all the time- and don’t even get me started on his little boyfriend George. Dream is a nice guy but damn he infuriates me sometimes,” Sapnap looks to the side shaking his head. Karl is surprised at the ‘boyfriend’ part, did Dream actually swing that way? “W-What do you mean, boyfriend?” Karl adds a giggle afterwards. “Oh I mean— they're not actually dating but they just hang out all the time, and he treats him special. It’s boyfriend type behavior,” Sapnap explains. 

‘Boyfriend behavior’? Karl questions. He’s never had that kinda behavior with anyone else, nor did he desire..or at least he thought. “Karl, do you plan to become king?” Sapnap asks looking straight into his eyes. Karl is a little happy that even after knowing he’s a Prince, that he didn’t use the word before his name. “Well, of course I do!” Karl lies. Trying to sound happy. “Seems like a pain in the ass if you ask me— no offense of course, you must work hard but I couldn’t imagine being the center of attention. I don’t know,” Sapnap says, looking around the room a bit. “You don’t even know,” Karl mumbles a little louder than he wanted, his eyes widened after realizing it. “I’m sorry man, there must be so much you don’t get to do..” Sapnap replies. “Hey, I have an idea! What if I take you to  _ experience  _ something you’ve probably never had before! I love showing people new things,” Sapnap says while leaning his shoulders on the table. 

Karl is sitting there in shock for a second, unsure of what to say to him. It was a sunday tomorrow, nothing much was planned..so Karl took a leap of faith. “That sounds great,” Karl says with a soft smile. “Amazing! I’ll meet you at the castle gate tomorrow at five then, okay,” Sapnap walks off before Karl could get another word in. Who was this weird but...unique boy, and why did Karl’s face warm up a bit at the thought of whatever Sapnap had planned? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tysm for reading !! what do you think sapnap will show him :O


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i tried new formatting for this chapter !! probably gonna stick with it.
> 
> twt: lailacynical

Sapnap taps his feet rhythmically on the gravel around the outskirts of the castle gate. 

Sapnap has never really done this with anyone, nor taken anyone to the spot he has planned to take Karl. What made him do such a thing? For a boy he’s just met?

Possibly it was their desires for the thing, or the similar struggles they face. The small things they shared meant a lot to Sapnap, as he’s never actually had a friend who necessarily cared about him. 

Dream really was a good guy, Sapnap respects how hard he works. He enjoys moments they’ve done things together but he could never sense the feeling he’s ever thought about. Sapnap looked forward to getting closer to this boy with the beautiful eyes.

—

Sapnap waits for a few twenty minutes after it reached five. Sapnap doesn’t see Karl anywhere, he begins to question his place in the boy's life. Sapnap was always an overthinker.

Suddenly a “Pssst” is heard from his left. He turns to see Karl peeking over the edge of the gate with his hand signaling for him to come over. 

Sapnap takes the signal and walks over to Karl.

“Hey I was wondering—,” Before Sapnap can continue, a guard is heard coming near. Karl pulls Sapnap behind the wall where he stood. The guard passes without seeing them.

The two are now inches away from each other, it looks like their embracing. Karl is the first one to break away from the position after noting how close they were. 

“What was that for doofus?” Sapnap says with a little nickname added. 

“I don’t know if you’ve forgotten, but being a Prince doesn't mean I can travel wherever I desire. Especially in a kingdom that isn’t mine,”

“I guess today is your lucky day then,” Sapnap says with a soft smile.

Karl rolls his eyes. “Where are we going anyways?”

Sapnap smirks before grabbing Karl’s hand and running to the back walls of the kingdom, making sure Karl was not to be seen. 

By the time they're out of anyone’s sight, Karl speaks up. “T-This doesn't really explain anything,”

“It’s a surprise,” Sapnap says before turning around to look at Karl with a smirk. Their hands still intertwined. 

Karl stays silent.

—

Eventually they reached the exit at the back of the kingdom walls, it was the wilderness.

The two are now outside of the kingdom, now walking to wherever Sapnap led them.

“I don’t need my hand to be held anymore nimrod,” Karl says.

“How do I know you're not gonna run off?”

“I could never survive out here,” Karl says with a laugh.

“I probably could. Ya know...fish for food, start a fire, chop down trees for a house,” he pauses before saying “..run from reality. Sounds fun.” 

Karl’s expression is no longer excited but a soft frown. 

An awkward silence is met before Sapnap speaks again.

“So, do your parents know?”

“That I'm here? No way, my mother would probably murder me cold blooded,”

To which Sapnap giggles. “And your father?”

Sapnap says.

Karl is silent for a moment. “I don’t think he would be too happy either..” Karl says in a sad tone.

Sapnap notices the change in tone and stops walking, Karl doing the same. Sapnap looks to see Karl’s sad expression. 

“Hey dude, I didn’t mean it like tha—”

“It’s okay, you didn’t know, I probably should have said something,” Karl adds on before Sapnap can continue.

They begin to walk again.

“Hey uhm, if it makes you feel better, my mom passed when I was younger,” Sapnap says.

“Wh- Why would that make me feel better...and it’s not like I'm sad,” Karl says with a smile, because this guy sucks at small talk.

“Oh, Y-Yeah true,” Sapnap is embarrassed, it’s hard for him to talk about serious situations.

—

By five forty five, they had made it to the destination Sapnap wanted to take Karl. Before them stood a long river, with the prettiest flowers you could imagine patterned across the sides. Beside the beautiful view stood a large tree, where a clear mark from where someone had sat was seen.

“It’s beautiful,” Karl says breathlessly, taking in the fresh air. 

Karl looks over to see Sapnap sitting against the large tree, patting the ground next to him signaling to Karl to join him.

Karl sits next to him. The two now taking in the view before them. Across the river are a few more trees.

“Sometimes the birds like to sit up there, it’s really cool,” Sapnap says in a calm tone.

“Hey, what makes you think i’ve never  _ experienced _ this before?” Karl asks.

“Well, the way you were in the library, I feel like you needed to see outside of a book. Or for that matter, being a Prince,” 

Sapnap doesn't hear anything for a moment. He looks over to Karl.

Karl is now staring straight at Sapnap, his eyes watering, on the verge of tears. Karl looks back to the river. 

“Thank you. I really needed this,” 

Sapnap doesn't see it, but he can hear the smile on Karl’s face. 

Sapnap gets up from the tree, and begins to collect flowers of all sorts of colors. He begins to intertwine them with long strands of wires from bushes. He makes a flower crown with shades of blue and hands it to Karl.

Karl smiles before putting it on, then looking at Sapnap for approval. 

“Brings out the color in your eyes, it’s really pretty” Sapnap says.

Karl looks away, he can't handle how flattered he felt. 

Sapnap makes his with shades of yellow and red. He asks Karl what he thinks. 

“I think red suits you. Where did you even learn to make these?” Karl adds.

“Thank you, and well, I come here often and I had an idea to make these once,”

“Ya know it kinda suits you, for a Prince. Like...you're the prince of flowers or something. It sounds dumb nevermind,” Sapnap rambles too much, he thinks to himself.

“No, actually! I really like it. Better than a real crown I think,” Karl says with his hands adjusting it on his head looking up to smile at Sapnap.

It hits Sapnap directly on his heart.

“You know, i’m actually kinda glad I was an idiot who ran into you the other day, I've never talked to anyone like this..” Karl admits. 

Sapnap hums in agreement. He doesn't add that he thought about him after he ran into him, he thought he might take it the wrong way. 

“You seem really clumsy,” Sapnap says with a grin.

“What makes you say that? I’m a bit offended honestly,” Karl says sarcastically.

“I can't explain, that’s why I said ‘seem’,” Sapnap says before bumping Karl with his elbow. 

Sapnap eventually says that it’s time to leave. He gets up before reaching out to help Karl do the same. As Karl is getting up Sapnap has a small thought back to yesterday, and those beautiful blue eyes. He’ll admit it now, they are beautiful. 

“Beautiful,” Sapnap blurts out.

“What?” Karl says.

Sapnap realizes what he just said. He can’t go back now though.

“Your eyes. They’re...beautiful,” 

Karl’s face turns a shade of pink. “Oh. Thanks, yours as well.” Karl says before grabbing his stuff.

Did he just compliment him as well? Sapnap won’t dwell on it though...or at least he tries not to. 

—

The walk back is peaceful, small talk every now and then. At the castle gate Sapnap asks,

“What will you tell your mother?” 

“Oh don’t worry, she won’t even notice I was gone,” Karl says. It was so easy to come out of his mouth and he doesn't realize the sadness behind the sentence. 

“Well, see you...eventually,” Sapnap waves goodbye.

Karl turns before turning around again to say, “Hey uhm, thanks again. That was fun! See you around Sapnap!” Karl runs off.

Sapnap lets out a sigh. He misses him already.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ty for reading !! :D
> 
> twt: lailacynical


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hii sorry for the bit of long wait !! i lost a little bit of inspo but it’s back now so yay :D
> 
> twitter: lailacynical 
> 
> hope u enjoy!!

It had now been three days since the two met up at the river.

It felt like three weeks for Karl. He truly missed Sapnap, everything that was bottled up inside him ends up coming out when he’s with that boy. He’s not sure why, he just felt comfortable. 

He kept the flower crown Sapnap gave him on his bedside table. Sapnap was every other thought in his head.

_ “Your eyes. They’re...beautiful,”  _ Those words never left his mind, they drove him insane. Karl didn’t know when he’d see the boy again, or how he would get in touch with him, but he hoped it was soon.

Karl is interrupted by the sound of his door being knocked on.

“Come in,”

His mother walks in.

“Son, you do know it’s Wednesday? You should know you're supposed to be out at combat training during this time,” His mother says with a stern voice. 

“I’m aware. I’m getting ready now,” Karl says breathlessly. 

His mother leaves with a nod. Karl hated Wednesdays, he had combat training with Alex these days. He didn’t hate Alex, he was the closest thing to a friend he had, it was the combat training he hated. Karl wasn’t a particularly athletic person but this was a required thing for him as a Prince.

—

Combat training was going just as expected. Karl would fall constantly, and the trainer would get mad at him. He would bend forwards and grip his stomach everytime the wooden sword would hit his side. 

Eventually at the end Alex and Karl were to practice against each other. The two would swing at each other with the sword until one of them was hit. 

They were holding up well for a good time until Alex eventually swipes at Karl’s legs, causing him to fall to the ground. Before Karl could hit the ground though, he’s caught by Alex. 

He looks up to see Alex looking down right at him, holding him in his arms. Alex pulls him back up and close to his chest. Alex grins at how close they are.

Karl turns away and out of his arms and his face goes a light pink shade because of the motion. This was the other reason why he didn’t like combat training. Alex was touchy.

Karl knew his love language was touch, but not by someone who he didn’t have those kinds of feelings for, and he was...a boy— well? Karl didn’t actually know what he liked but he knew it wasn’t Alex.

“That’s enough for today I think,” The trainer says.

“See you tomorrow Karlos,” Alex waves goodbye to Karl. To which he waves back.

—

The first destination Karl is headed is to the library. It had actually turned into a daily thing ever since that day he first met Sapnap. The familiar smell of old books now reminded him of the boy.

He scrolled through the long selection of books and until he came across a book by the name of ‘The adventures of the Lonely Prince’. The synopsis reads:  _ A story in which a prince travels the world to experience new things, he travels a lonely adventure until he learns to communicate with animals on his travels _ .

It suddenly rings in his head that Sapnap would like this, he’s not sure why he thinks that but...he just knows. So he takes the book and puts it in his satchel he used for carrying books.

—

Karl now walks in the castle hallways to the dining room, it was dinner time. Karl wishes he could eat in his room, away from all of the social stress that sat at the dinner table. 

He does a deep sigh before walking through the dining room doors. Everyone is already there. Alex, his mother, their rightful knight, and a few other people Karl didn’t care to know the names of. 

Karl sits in the sit across the table to his mother at the far end and to the right of Alex. His mother greets him.

“Good afternoon Karl,” She says with a smile. She was so fake around others with Karl. 

Karl nods slightly. She goes back to talking to the strangers Karl doesn't know. Before long Alex is already playing with his food. Karl smiles at it.

Karl now stares into his food, not hungry though he begins to drift into his thoughts.

Suddenly his head is filled with images of Sapnap that day at the river, he’s excited to read the book to him, he’s excited to see his black hair that blocks his eyes sometimes, he’s excited to get that feeling of warmth again when he unconsciously fiddles with his hands, he misses him. 

Karl’s daydreaming is interrupted when his mother calls his name.

“Karl, you’re such a daydreamer. Anyways, I wanted to let you know that we’re hosting the next ball at this castle! How exciting? I’ll be able to make it this time, along with Alex,”

Karl’s heart flutters, the thought that..Sapnap would be in his castle, the thought of seeing  _ him. _

“O-Oh that's really surprising. When is it being held?” Karl says, eager for the answer, practically on the edge of his seat.

“Tomorrow actually! That’s the reason I got you that tailored suit. I wanted to make sure I could have it hosted as soon as possible,” His mother says with a genuine smile.

Karl is so happy, not because his mother is happy or excited for her son. Just because he can see Sapnap...maybe. He didn’t know if he was actually coming.

“So, uhm, do you have the list of guests coming?” Karl asks.

“Yes actually, but there’s sure to be more added tomrorr-”

“Can I see it?” It was a little rude to interrupt his mother, he’s surprised he didn’t die though when she smiled before pulling out a paper. She can see the happiness in her son's face, she’s not sure why but it’s new.

The paper is handed to Karl after being passed around the table. The list of participants reads:

_ “El Rapids Royal Evening Ball _

_ Prince Karl _

_ Prince Alex _

_ Prince Clay (Known as ‘Dream’) _

_ Prince Wilbur, Technoblade, Tommy _

_ George Davidson  _

_ Niki Nihachu _

_ Nick Armstrong (Know as ‘Sapnap’) _

_ Princess Alyssa _

_ Fundy Floris _

_ Toby Smith _

_ Jack Manifold _

_ Prince Sam _

_ Ranboo” _

“Nick Armstrong huh?” Karl thinks to himself. He never actually knew Sapnaps real name, but the real thing that ran through Karl’s mind was seeing Sapnap...he would see him again finally, and read him the wonderful book he had picked out for him. 

After dinner, Karl runs to his room and digs his face into his pillow. Sapnap runs through his head, he now begins to think if it was weird how much he thought about the boy. It didn’t bother him for much longer though, soon Alex walks into his room.

“What do you want, nimrod?” Karl asks in a playful tone.

“Nothing much,” He sits beside Karl on his bed. “just wondering what made you smile so much at the dinner table, and why you were so desperate to know who’s going to be at the ball. Who have you met huh? What’s her name? You interested-”

“What?! It’s nothing, I was just curious at the amount of people going is all, it’s quite a long list. Have you read it?” Karl tries to lie.

“I did actually. It was an average sized ball to be completely honest. As for  _ who _ , there’s only two girls being there anyways. So who is it, Niki or Alyssa? Karlosss~ who’s on your mind~? Alex teases leaning into Karl. 

“It’s nothing…” Karl is looking away.

“Karl i’ve never seen you like this, really. Who is it? Can’t you trust me?”

He did kind of have a point, Alex had done lots for Karl. He considered Alex a friend, so, maybe he should share it with him.

“Okay, uhm, well. I met someone.” Karl begins.

“Oooohhh~” Alex teases.

Karl rolls his eyes.

“His name is Sapnap, and we met at that ball that was held in the Dream SMP on Saturday,” 

“Sapnap? That dude? I’ve heard of him before but he seems, a little, I don’t know...weird,” Alex trails off saying.

“No seriously, he’s really nice, he’s super nice to me! Like one of the first people i’ve ever been comfortable around! The next day he took me-”

“You’re not comfortable around me?” Alex asks, a little offended.

“What? No- it’s not like that I-I mean just—- he understands me,” Karl tries to answer.

“Oh, like all that quirky library shit you do? He really must be weird then,” Alex laughs after saying.

Karl is a little hurt at the remark.

“Yeah, Yeah whatever, i’m just excited to see him. If that answers your question,” Karl ends with.

A little bit of science falls between them.

“So, you like him then?”

“I-I mean uhm, in a friendly way...if that’s what you’re referring too,” Karl is flustered at such a question.

“No I mean, like in a romantic way,” Alex says with a smirk.

“No, no, no. I-I am not into him romantically, I-I just really enjoy his company,”

“And? Continue?” Alex says.

“Well, when we first met I liked his eyes, they were a midnight blue shade. Soon after when we met again I liked the headband that sat under his bangs- which I also like his dark black hair, his bangs go in front of his eyes sometimes and when he- oh! When he brought me to the river he made me a flower crown and I really liked it, he’s good at making things! He’s also pretty adventurous, he told me stories about adventuring when he was younger. I also like how he sees marriage differently than others, that was the first thing I learned when I met

him. The thing that I really love though, is his smile. He smiles with his eyes, it’s cute-” Karl pauses.

He has just unpacked so much, and when he looks over to Alex, he’s just staring at him with his mouth open like he’s going to say something but he can’t.

“Th-That was...a lot. Sorry…” Karl apologizes, he’s really embarrassed.

“Wow Karlos, I’ve never seen you, like this…” Alex says, a little thrown off guard.

“Was it too much?” 

“It was quite interesting actually, you’ve only known this boy for what? five days? You're really into him, I think you like him Karlosss~” Alex says poking Karl’s side.

“Whatever, please get out of my room now,” Karl says, red as an apple.

“Haha whatever Karlos,” Alex says before leaving the room.

Hm. Maybe he did like him. Whatever, those were feelings he would process in the morning. He was too tired to think right now.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tysm for reading :0!!! 
> 
> ball next chapter wooo
> 
> also sorry if the names are weird or something,, i didn’t know what to put tbh 😭


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this chapter is a little bit short !! but you do get some dnf content so yaya :D !! also the vibe i’m going for with dream and sapnap is that they both don’t see that their having feelings for karl and george 
> 
> also yes dream team is getting closer :)
> 
> twitter: lailacynical

Sapnap sits at the table next to his home window, enjoying his dinner. Sapnaps house was not big, it was an average sized house. Perfect for just his father and him. Speaking of his father, he happened to walk in just as Sapnap was about to head out the door.

“Son, we must have a talk before tonight,” his father says before insisting he sit down.

Sapnap sits. “About the ball? Don’t worry i’m aware what time it starts and stuff,”

“No. About how long it’s taking you to find a wife,”

Sapnap already hated where this was going. 

“Many men your age have already found a wife. So what’s taking you so long? I know you value finding the right woman, but it mustn’t take this long,” His father says.

“Yes, yes, I know. I’m trying my hardest,” Sapnap tries to defend with.

“If you ever need anything you know you can talk to me right? If you're ever having problems with something, let me know,” His father walks off with.

Sapnap thinks his father wants him to marry so badly because of his lack of woman figure in his life. It sounded a bit selfish to be honest, Sapnap never longed for it as much as his father since he never met his mother. 

Nonetheless, Sapnap headed out the door to meet with Dream. They were supposed to head to the ball together, it was Dream's offer. 

Sapnap met Dream at the horse stables near his house. They greeted each other shortly before Sapnap got on his horse. They were now headed to Dream’s castle. On the way, they had a small conversation.

“Hey so, you know George right?” Dream asks.

“Yeah, why?” Sapnap is already tired of this conversation.

“Well I learned he moved to this kingdom now, cool right? Well apparently he wanted to hangout Saturday. It made me really excited when he asked. I don’t know, I’m super happy when I’m with him, weird right?” Dream looks over at Sapnap with a soft smile. “Sorry, I don’t know why I'm telling you this,” Dream laughs off.

Sapnap actually liked it. Dream never opened up to him like that, he was honestly happy for

him.

“Don’t worry man, I’m glad to hear that. Do you think he feels the same?” Sapnap asks.

“Well I mean— I never thought about that. Do you think he enjoys his time with me?” 

“I mean, I don’t think he likes me, so he probably likes you,” Sapnap giggles.

“That’s not true! He told me that he liked your style sense— and trust me, George would never say something like that about someone he didn’t like,” 

A smile grows on Sapnaps face. He suddenly wonders if Karl likes spending time with him, did Karl think about him even when they weren’t hanging out? Sapnap sure did, he missed Karl the days following the time they met up. 

“Hey uhm, I actually ended up hanging out with Karl, the day after I asked you about him,” Sapnap says nervously.

“Prince Karl? Wow, you two must be close,” Dream says.

“I mean, I guess. We’ve only hung out once,”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll see him tonight then,”

Sapnaps heart jumped a little, he was excited to see Karl. 

—

Once they made it to the castle, Dream led Sapnap to a changing room with a personal tailor. Sometimes Sapnap felt a little like a prince when he hung out with Dream, he was given some luxuries like this when they hung out. His mother also really liked him, possibly the closest mother figure he had.

The tailor suited him in a laced up blouse, that revealed a little bit of his chest. With a blazer atop his blouse, that was tucked into his pants. His hair styled so that it was parted down the middle, and his headband laid under his hair.

Sapnap wonders what Karl would be wearing, but the thought soon fades once Dream walks into the room.

“Wow dude, you look really good!” Dream compliments him. 

“Thanks,” Sapnap says.

“The carriage is here, we have to get going,” 

The two head outside and to the carriage. Sapnap was unaware of the carriage taking them to the ball, but he enjoyed the moment. The carriage abruptly stops though when Dream stops the driver. Outside Sapnaps sees George, he was walking to the ball by himself. Dream welcomed him in the carriage to drive with them. George sits beside Dream, the two are across from Sapnap.

“What were you doing walking out there all by yourself?” Dream asks.

“It’s a long story. Oh hey Sapnap,” George nods.

Sapnap nods back. The two are now just having small talk, Dream has George's hand on his thigh. It was a touch that Sapnap analyzed possibly a little too much. Maybe that “boyfriend behavior” Sapnap described to Karl had become a reality, he didn’t ask though. They soon arrived at the El Rapids castle, where the ball was being held.

Dream and George walked in front of Sapnap...holding hands. The three walked into the ballroom, where many people were socializing. Dream and George drifted apart from Sapnap, leaving him alone.

Sapnap scans the room looking for Karl. He sees Niki, who is dancing with Wilbur. He tries to brush off the sad feeling that comes over him. To the right of Niki are two other boys, one is asking ridiculous questions to George, while the shorter one is just laughing at the stupidity. The taller one happened to be Prince Tommy, the other was his best friend Tubbo, he expected the two to be like that all night. 

Eventually Sapnap just gets onto the dancing floor to join in. He joins the group of people who dance around passing between each other. He dances with one woman after another, conversation small between them until he finds himself uninterested. Before he tries to break out of the pattern, he’s met with someone else. Not a woman though, it happened to be Karl. The two are now standing close to each other, their hands holding in the air, and their hands on eachothers hip. 

The two shortly break from the stance and Sapnap excitedly greets Karl. They both walk to the side of the dance floor to talk.

“Good to see you again…” Karl says awkwardly.

“Yeah,” Sapnap notices the small bags under Karl’s eyes. “You look like you haven’t had much sleep,” Sapnap says in a worried tone.

“Yeah, I really didn’t.” Karl says rubbing the back of his neck. “You wanna get out of here? I have something to show you,” Karl’s face lights up. 

“Of course, is that even a question?” Sapnap laughs.

Karl grabs Sapnaps hand and leads him away from the ballroom. They were now walking through the hallways of Karl’s castle.

“You will never know how long it took me to get out of my moms bickering,” Karl says.

Karl’s outfit is now just registered in his mind. Karl wore a buttoned up collared shirt, with a blue sweater atop it. Along with a satchel that showed he was a prince.  _ Pretty _ .

“I like your outfit by the way, very prince-like.” Sapnap giggles. 

Karl turns around to look Sapnap up and down, “Thanks, I like yours too.” Karl grins before turning back around. Still holding his hands leading him somewhere.

The gesture made Sapnaps heart warm up in all the right places. Karl was like a virus, but in a good way. 

“Here we are,” Karl says, shortly letting go of Sapnaps hand. Sapnap already missed the warmth.

In front of the two now was an average sized library, but was condensed by many different hallways of books. It was very different from the one at the Dream SMP. 

They both walked into the library, but before they could do anything a loud clack of heels was heads in the distance. 

Karl swiftly grabs Sapnaps hand and sits them both in a corner of the library where it was visible unless you walked behind a couple bookshelves. The two sat there before the woman left. 

“What was that?” Sapnap asks, sitting next to Karl. 

“My mom, she’s probably mad I'm not in the ballroom right now,” Karl says.

“Oh— well what did you want to show me?” 

“Oh! Yeah,” Karl pulls a book out from under his sweater. “This is what I wanted to show you,” 

“A book?” Sapnap laughs.

“Yes, I thought you’d like it.” Karl says examining the front cover.

“Really? You thought about me?” Sapnap says with a joking tone, nudging Karl a little bit. 

“What? Do you not think about me?” Karl laughs. 

Sapnap is silent for a little bit. “I do,” He says firmly. 

Sapnap looks at the ground while Karl peers up at him. They sit in silence.

“What’s the book about?” Sapnap asks, breaking the silence. 

“It’s about a prince who goes on an adventure! It’s actually a children’s book, perfect for you!” Karl giggles. 

“Meanie,” Sapnap nudges Karl’s shoulder playfully. “What makes you think I’ll like it though?”

“I remember that day we went to the river, you said you were into adventures, and I thought the prince thing was kinda like me so I thought this would interest you— or something like that,” Karl tries to explain, he honestly wasn’t sure.

“Oh— cool,” Sapnap is flattered that he remembered that. 

Karl begins to read the story. “In a kingdom far away, a young prince wants to explore the world. The world has always intrigued him, but being a prince he was never given the opportunity to explore the world—”

Karl reads the story to Sapnap. The ending was sweet, it told how the prince learned more about the outside world. How  _ experiencing different  _ things was important, and to not keep your life ordinary. After the story the two sat in a comfortable silence.

“That was sweet,” Sapnap says.

Before Sapnap can input something else, he feels Karl’s head lay on his shoulder. The motion surprised him a little bit.

Karl was pretty tired, and Sapnap didn’t know his way around the castle. So he just let it happen. 

Eventually he found himself also drifting asleep, so he laid his head atop Karl’s, and fell asleep.

Who cared about a stupid ball.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tysm for reading! i’m rlly trying  
> my best to include more ships/characters in this i’m sorry :p 
> 
> also it’s really hard to describe the outfits i want for them lol


End file.
